Override
by EyePhoenix
Summary: Prompto begins to experience frequent headaches and vacant episodes only to learn that he has been acting strangely when they occur. Will he be able to prevent them from happening before his subconscious actions have lasting consequences? [no pairing]
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:** I feel I owe an explanation to those who have read my previous fanfictions, I haven't updated in a very long time and I can only apologise for that - the reason being that I lost my cat; Nugget, to unknown circumstances on Christmas Eve and I haven't been doing too well in regards to dealing with his passing. I've tried to act as normally as I can but I've actually lost a lot of interest in the things that I love most - including writing fanfiction._

 _I've actually been sitting on the first chapter of Override since January - it's spent most of it's time as a note on my phone because I didn't feel ready to share this story, but after reading this chapter many times and rewriting it more times than I can count I've finally decided to share the first chapter and start working towards improving the second chapter._

 _For those who do read my other fanfiction, I'm sorry you waited for so long, I will return to Nine Tails Jinchuriki soon - I have a few last commitments to attend to then I plan to come back into writing fanfiction again._

 _I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I apologise in advance if there are any typos, grammar mistakes or if it does take me a long time to update this story._

 _~Fox_

 _ **Summary:** Prompto begins to experience strange headaches and vacant episodes only to learn that he has been acting strangely when they occur. Will he be able to prevent them from happening before his subconscious actions have lasting consequences? _

_**Pairing:** None at present_

 _ **Rating:** T - for later use of language_

* * *

The blond felt the ground beneath his feet shift slightly as his vision blurred; forcing the young man's knees to collide painfully with the cobbled pavement as his legs buckled under his own weight and a searing pain shot through his head like a bullet.

The blond gritted his teeth and closed his eyes tightly in an attempt to prevent himself from calling out in pain as he brought one of his hands up to massage his forehead and tried to steady himself with the other.

"Prompto?" A muffled voice issued from somewhere nearby; Prompto winced against the sound and let out a low, involuntary groan. "Prompto, are you okay? Can you hear –" The voice seemed to become more and more ineligible as a high pitched ringing accompanied the blond's headache.

A flash of red and a silhouetted figure occupied the space behind the young man's eyelids; Prompto tried to focus on the darkened figure to take his mind off of the increasing level of pain that was quickly building up in the blond's head, but as swiftly as the image had flickered into existence, it was gone again – taking the pain in Prompto's head and the ringing in his ears away with it.

"– not responding, we should get him somewhere safe until we are able to rouse him again." The same voice that had called out to Prompto earlier pulled the blond back into his true surroundings; it was only now that the young man had realised that someone was gripping his shoulders tightly in an attempt to prevent him from tipping forwards and hitting the ground again.

"Ignis?" Prompto slowly let his hand slip away from his forehead to fall back down to his side as he straightened himself up into a kneeling position and opened his eyes – he was temporarily blinded by the bright sunlight that streamed over Prompto and his companions through a gap in the tall buildings that surrounded them.

Prompto blinked continuously until his eyes were able to adjust to the light and the three worried face of his friends came into focus. He let his gaze fall upon the closest of the three men; a bespectacled man with a serious expression – his sandy coloured hair was starting to fall into his face due to an uncharacteristic lack of care; he was close enough to Prompto that the blond could see his own pallid reflection within the older man's glasses. The man was crouched on the floor at Prompto's side – his green eyes carefully scanned Prompto's face as he slowly relinquished his tight grip on the younger man's shoulders.

"Can you stand?" Asked the sandy haired man – who Prompto now recognised to be Ignis Scientia; the royal advisor to the crowned Prince of Lucis – as he slowly offered one of his gloved hands to the blond.

Prompto gave a small shaky nod as he grasped Ignis's hand and the older man aided him to his feet.

Prompto could feel his legs begin to tremble as they struggled to bear his own weight and quickly steadied himself against Ignis and a nearby wall.

"I'm okay," Prompto reassured the bespectacled man with a smile as Ignis tensed to support the blond's weight, "just feeling a little off was all –"

"A little off?" Came the gruff voice of the prince's shield – Prompto's eyes followed the voice to see a tall, well-built man regard him with an incredulous stare. This man had unruly brunette hair that fell to his shoulders but was shaved at the sides along with a jaw beard. A scar adorned the man's face; it stretched vertically across his left eye – Prompto knew that the burly man had acquired his scar during an incident involving the prince, but he did not know any other details regarding its origins as neither the prince nor his shield seemed particularly comfortable in discussing the tale. The blond could see the wings of the muscular man's eagle tattoo extend down the length of his arms from beneath his black open shirt. His amber eyes complimented his rugged appearance. Prompto knew this man to be Gladiolus Amicitia. "You're as white as a ghost!"

"Honestly guys, it was just a –"

"Perhaps it's time we sought accommodation, we have been travelling for a fair few days with little to no rest," Ignis suggested; ignoring Prompto's attempts to wave away his friends' concerns as he turned to address the final member of their group, "I'm worried that his condition may worsen if left alone."

The remaining member – a young man who was around the same age as Prompto with ebony coloured hair that framed his face in bangs; completed with a long fringe that fell into his cerulean eyes – took a small step closer to the blond with a thoughtful expression as he slowly nodded.

Prompto had known this young man for many years – and had even been able to become acquainted with Gladiolus and Ignis through their friendship – the pair had initially met at a young age but hadn't become friends until high school due to Prompto's shyness at the time; despite this, the two boys has swiftly become best friends.

Given that his best friend was also the crowned Prince of Lucis, Prompto had soon become more popular with his school peers as well as journalists and photographers – each wanting to know what Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum CXIV was like behind the scenes and how they could get closer to the elusive heir to the throne; but the blond knew better than to give in to their questions and simply shrugged them off or made a joke out of his situation – but this didn't stop the likes of Ignis and Gladiolus from finding out about the pairs' misadventures and tomfoolery through the press.

Despite their close friendship, it had still come as a shock to Prompto when the Marshal; Cor Leonis, had come to his house and escorted the blond to the citadel in Noctis's new car; the Star of Lucis – Cor had explained that to the blond that he was to accompany Noctis to Altissia as part of the prince's royal guard alongside Gladiolus and Ignis. Prompto often found himself riddled with doubt; he wasn't sure why the citadel or even Noctis would want someone who had little to no fighting experience at his side for such a perilous journey – in recent days, he had even began to wonder whether Gladiolus and Ignis begrudged him presence as more of a hindrance to their task – especially considering that he was frequently injured or downed during hunts and battles.

"I don't think camp's going to cut it tonight," the raven haired man spoke up at last, "we should stay in town, we're less likely to run into daemons and we'll be able to stock up on potions and stuff here."

"It was just a headache, there's really no need to make a fuss over little ol' me," the blond chuckled as he ruffled his hair timidly, "besides, I feel fine now and we did promise to slay those Bulettes for that lovely –"

"Nuh uh, I don't think so," the burly brunette interjected, "you're in no fit state to be running around in the wilderness on hunts – Iggy's right, you need a rest. Have we got enough money for a hotel tonight?" He added; aiming his question at the bespectacled man.

"I'm sure that our funds should be sufficient," Ignis replied as he pivoted on the spot and headed back through the backstreets of Lestallum towards the Leville hotel, "however, eating may be a problem, but I'm sure I can negotiate with the hotel staff and see if they'll be so kind as to let me use their kitchen – I can use the ingredients we collected earlier today –" the sandy haired man's sentence trailed off; no doubt to mentally form a list of recipes that he could use for their meal that night.

"That means more veggies," the ebony haired prince groaned more to himself than to his friends as he slowly dragged his feet in Ignis's footsteps, "great!"

"We could take on the request ourselves," Gladiolus suggested as he and Prompto trailed along at Noctis's side, "then we can buy some fresh ingredients in the market."

Noctis quirked an interested eyebrow at the brunette, "you think he would let us go off on our own?" He asked as he nodded at Ignis's back.

"The hunt isn't too far from here; Ignis will probably be able to watch you guys do it from the viewfinders near the car park if her really wanted to," Prompto pointed out with a small, light-hearted laugh, "if you head out with the Regalia now, you'll probably make it back just before sunset."

Noctis remained silent for a few moments as he contemplated his friends' words, "I guess it's worth a –"

"Noct!" Ignis's sharp voice caused Prompto, Gladiolus and Noctis to give a startled jump and stare about themselves in search of an approaching imperial solider; they quickly positioned themselves into defensive stances as they readied themselves to draw their weapons at a second's notice – Gladiolus made sure that he was as close to the prince's back as possible while Prompto quickly situated himself directly in front of his raven haired friend. "A prince should not slouch, stand up straight." The sandy haired man snapped in a reprimanding tone.

"What the hell, Ignis?" Noctis burst angrily as he, Gladiolus and Prompto instantly relaxed their guarded stances. "Don't do that, I thought we were being attacked!" Noctis picked up his pace and stormed past the bespectacled man, "jeez, are you my mother or something?" He muttered in a sulky undertone.

Gladiolus gave an exasperated sigh as he and Prompto continued to follow Noctis and Ignis.

"He wouldn't be on your back so much if you shaped up a little and started acting like a prince, you know," The brunette murmured to himself, "in any case, there goes our chance to do the hunt today," Gladiolus massaged his forehead with an irritable expression before he turned his attention towards the blond at his side, "how are you holding up, short stuff?"

"Huh? Oh!" The question had caught Prompto off guard. "I feel fine; I really don't understand why you guys are making such a big deal over a headache." He flashed a grin at the older man – but inwardly he was beginning to feel fed up with repeating the same sentence over and over again like a parrot only to fall on deaf ears.

Gladiolus regarded the younger man with a surveying stare, "just let me know if you start feeling dizzy again, I don't mind carrying you to the hotel."

Prompto felt the heat rise to his face as a red blush crept across his freckled cheeks while the brunette smirked to himself in amusement, "I – I don't need to be carried thank you very much, I've already told you that I feel fine." He said more forcefully than he had intended; he was somewhat relieved when Gladiolus's reaction was laugh rather than take offence.

"That's the most colour I've seen on your face in the past hour," the prince's shield sniggered; making the blond's face redden even more, "lighten up, it was only a joke." The brunette reassured Prompto as he clapped one of his hands on the younger man's shoulder – nearly knocking poor Prompto back onto the floor.

The group soon approached a hotel that was hidden away in the south western corner of Lestallum. Despite the industrial layout of Lestallum, throngs of ivy poured from the roof and the odd balcony of the Leville hotel while potted plants rested at the base of each pillar near the hotel's entrance. Black flags were erected either side of the hotel's front doors; both embroidered with gold lettering that simply read _'The Leville, Lestallum'_ beneath the hotel's insignia. White tables and chairs were placed on the top of the steps – near the oak, double doors – above which a glass and metal structure that bore the same logo and wording that had adorned the black flags. In the centre of the clearing in front of the Leville stood a large water feature; that was decorated with grand palm trees as well as other shrubs and flowers. The hotel's appearance stuck out in a built up area such as Lestallum, but there was something about the Leville's appearance that strangely complimented the industrial town.

The more Prompto stared at the hotel, the more detail he could see. The blond faltered in his footsteps while he quickly fumbled for his camera and brought the viewfinder up to his eyes as he began to focus the lens of the camera to ensure the perfect shot of the Leville hotel.

With a slight frown, the blond cast his eyes about himself until he found a few sturdy looking boxes nearby - he carefully placed them one on top of the other in the spot where he had been stood seconds ago and clambered cautiously on top of them before he brought the viewfinder back up to his eye.

"Prompto?" Gladiolus whirled around on the spot as he noticed the blond's absence from his side.

Upon hearing the brunette's voice, Noctis and Ignis turned to face the blond in fear that he had fallen once more as Prompto pressed down on the shutter button and snapped his shot. He brought the camera back down away from his face; clicking another button to view his photograph on the small LCD display screen.

"A genuine shot of you guys," Prompto told his friends cheerfully – holding his camera above his head and giving it a small wave to draw the other three's attention towards the device, Noct, you should see your –"

Prompto's sentence was cut short as another stabbing pain pierced through the blond's head and caused a wave of nausea to settle over him; he took a sharp inward breath through gritted teeth and clapped the palm of his free hand to his forehead while the other hand subconsciously relaxed his grip on the camera along with a twitch of his arm – causing the device to hurtle to the floor with a crunching sound of broken glass.

Before the blond could reregister his surroundings, the raven haired prince was already at his side to offer Prompto a hand to step down from the boxes - Noctis gave his friend a comforting squeeze on the shoulder as soon as he was sure that Prompto was on steady ground.

"You need to lie down," Noctis frowned at his best friend as he began to guide Prompto towards the hotel again, "you look like you're going to pass out, Ignis have we got any potions left?" He shot his question at the sandy haired advisor.

"If we've any left, they'll be in the trunk of the Regalia," the bespectacled man replied.

"I'll go, you guys keep an eye on Prom," Noctis detached himself from the group – leaving Prompto in the care of his trusted shield and advisor – as he quickly spun on the spot and began to run in the direction of the car park, "I'll be as quick as I can!" He called back over his shoulder before he turned a corner and disappeared out of sight.

"I'd rather he didn't go alone," Ignis murmured under his breath as he strode towards the remaining pair and stooped down to pick up Prompto's camera; inspecting the damage that had been caused by the fall as he returned to his full height. The sandy haired man then beckoned at Prompto to follow his lead as he pivoted on the spot again and continued towards the Leville; pausing only to glance over his shoulder to ensure that the blond has complied with his silent request – while the muscular brunette remained close to Prompto's side the whole time.

After a quick exchange at the hotel's front desk, Ignis led Gladiolus and Prompto up a set of stairs and into a vast suite that contained two large beds as well as a pair of leather armchairs and a matching sofa with a glass coffee table in the middle. Large wooden doors with shuttered glass panels led out onto a balcony; which looked down upon the vast opening and the water fountain between the tall buildings – Prompto could hear two men singing from somewhere outside as Ignis pulled the balcony doors open to let fresh air gently blow through their hotel room.

Prompto's eyes were drawn towards a huge, metal structure that decorated the wall between the two beds; the pipes invited the industrial themes of Lestallum to collide with the elegance of the Leville. Two potted plants stood in the corners of the room and a scattering of picture frames situated above the two beds completed the décor of the room. Another door led off of the hotel room to what Prompto assumed was an en-suite bathroom.

The blond approached the closest bed to get a better view of the photos in the picture frames; each contained a different view of Lestallum – the more notable pictures included that of the Disc of Cauthess, a woman beaming proudly at the gates of the power plant, and King Regis cutting a ribbon at the grand opening of the Leville – the blond wondered if he should remove the last picture before Noctis arrived to spare his friend's feelings or whether the photo's absence would only draw the prince's attention even more.

"Lie down before you fall down." Gladiolus instructed the blond – he then watched patiently as Prompto awkwardly perched himself on the edge of the bed he was stood next to and kicked his shoes off before the brunette turned his attention towards Ignis. "We should've told Noct to bring back some ingredients for you; do you want me to call him quick?"

"No need, I still have yet to talk to the staff –" Ignis replied as he crossed the room towards the door that led back to the hallway "– bear with me, I'll be right back."

The bespectacled man swiftly departed from the room; leaving Gladiolus to curiously inspect the room – he opened the drawers of one of the bedside cabinets to nose around inside before slowly closing it again and stepping onto the balcony to appreciate the view – while Prompto continued to glance about himself uncertainly in the time it took Ignis to return.

"Good news, they're happy to let us use their kitchens." Ignis announced as he closed the door behind himself again. "As long as we're willing to clean up after ourselves."

"That's a fair deal," the brunette replied.

"I think we've got some schier turmeric and Leiden potatoes in the Regalia," Ignis mused aloud, "maybe some sweet peppers and chocobeans too –"

Prompto let his mind wander while the two older men continued their conversation; the blond thought back to the comment that Gladiolus had made earlier when Noctis had pouted and grumbled after Ignis had lectured the prince.

The younger man cleared his throat before he spoke up to address Ignis and Gladiolus.

"Hey, so what was Noct like as a kid?" Prompto enquired curiously as he swung his feet onto the bed and made himself more comfortable.

His question was met with bewildered stares from the prince's shield and advisor.

Ignis gave a small, uncomfortable cough as he carefully contemplated his answer, "well, I guess you could say he was rather –"

"– Obnoxious," Gladiolus supplied for the bespectacled man, "arrogant, irresponsible and if my memory serves me right, I remember that he had a particular disliking for vegetables," the burly man paused for a moment and pretended to be in deep thought, "so he was really no different to how he is now." He added with a mischevious chuckle.

"These doors aren't soundproof, you know," came Noctis's voice as a mere disgruntled growl as the hotel room door slowly swung open with a creak to reveal the prince.

Noctis lent against the wooden doorframe; he threw a vial of potion into the air only to catch it again and repeat the action continuously with one hand while his blue eyes locked with Gladiolus's amber ones. "I had a feeling that we might need two potions, it's a shame I only brought one of them back with me."

"Like you could even lay one finger on me." Gladiolus retorted with a confident smirk.

"Play nicely," Ignis warned the pair as he snatched the vial out of the air and turned to Prompto; decidedly ignoring Noctis's pounce at Gladiolus, "and don't break anything; I dare say that we won't be able to replace any damaged goods at this time."

"– I'll show you arrogant and obnoxious!" Noctis barely managed to tackle Gladiolus; he used the awkward placement of furniture to his advantage and tripped the brunette until both men fell to the floor in a heap.

"I'll talk to myself then, gentlemen." Ignis sighed wearily before he perched himself on the bed beside Prompto; who was watching the prince and his shield wrestle. "Drink this, Prompto; it may help alleviate your headaches." He handed the vial to the blond then gently pushed himself off of the bed. "Try and get some sleep too – if you need me, I'll be cooking dinner in the kitchen."

"Right," the blond nodded; turning the vial over in his hands to examine the shimmering blue liquid inside before he cast a hesitant glance at Noctis and Gladiolus, "I'll try anyway," he added with a small laugh.

Ignis frowned at the pair as he swiftly crossed the room and instantly put an end to their playful fighting with nothing more than a reproachful glare, "when you two are quite done, Prompto needs some peace and quiet to rest."

With an uncomfortable silence hanging over the room, the prince and the brunette slowly regained their full heights, straightened themselves up while dusting themselves off before they quietly slid into the two leather armchairs – sharing a guilty glance as they did so.

"Why don't you two make yourselves useful and go get some ingredients from the Regalia?" Ignis suggested in an almost threatening tone as he pivoted on the spot.

Noctis groaned and rolled his eyes, "I was just there, why didn't you call –" His complaint faltered under the sandy haired man's gaze.

Gladiolus and Noctis watched silently as Ignis left the hotel room while muttering something about respectable behaviour under his breath – as soon as the suit door closed with a small snap, Noctis and Gladiolus shared another guilty glance which quickly escalated into fits of sniggering.

"That job is definitely off the cards, isn't it?" The ebony haired man smirked as he rested his head on the back of the chair and stared at the ceiling.

"And whose fault is that?" Gladiolus riposted playfully.

"I'd say it was a joint effort," the prince shrugged; pulling his phone out of the pocket of his black cargo shorts to play a game of King's Knight before he then called over to the blond on the bed, "how's your head, Prom?"

"Its fine," Prompto pulled the stop off of the vial and sniffed the potion inside curiously, "you heard Iggy, I only need a little rest – but I suppose a potion won't hurt." The blond mused more to himself; he then swigged the potion back in one gulp and gave a slight shudder – despite the taste, he found that he was already feeling much better than he had mere seconds ago; a heavy weight that he had barely noticed seemed to shift somewhere inside his head, making the blond feel noticeably perkier.

"Don't let us keep you up then," without moving his eyes from the screen of his mobile phone, Noctis rose from his seat and gave Prompto a small wave as he headed towards the door, "otherwise we'll never hear the end of it from Specs."

"We'll wake you up when Iggy comes back with dinner," Gladiolus reassured the blond with an encouraging smile as he followed the prince's lead and the pair left Prompto alone in the hotel room.

* * *

When Prompto was gently shaken awake by Ignis, his eyes fluttered open to see that the hotel suite was dimly lit by one of the bedside lamps rather than the wall and ceiling lights; giving the room a warm glow.

Anything beyond their room's balcony now seemed to fall into darkness – making the young blond wonder how long he had been asleep.

"I have prepared a meal for us," Ignis announced as he carefully stepped aside to let Prompto sit up.

Prompto felt a blanket fall off of him as he stretched his limbs and yawned groggily; he quickly caught the blanket before the material could fall to the floor and examined it curiously – he wondered who out of the three other men had placed it over him – but quickly dismissed the matter as Ignis spoke again.

"I hope you don't mind a garden curry."

The smell of mixed spices hit the blond nostrils as he eagerly crawled to the end of the bed towards the source of the smell – he was only just realising how hungry he was and how much time had passed since he was able to eat a proper meal. "It smells great, Iggy." He beamed excitedly at the bespectacled man as Ignis handed a bowl of curry to Prompto. "It looks great too; I can't wait to try it."

"Are you joining us, Noct?" Gladiolus – who was positioned in the armchair that he had occupied earlier – called over his shoulder towards the shuttered doors.

The raven haired man had perched himself on the railing of the balcony; he was staring down at the civilians of Lestallum on the cobbled pavement below while the breeze of the night air carefully caressed his face. He perked up when his name was called and deftly slid himself off of the railing before he re-entered the room and glanced over at the food that Ignis had prepared.

In the meantime, Ignis had made himself comfortable in the armchair that had been occupied by Noctis previously and watched expectantly as the prince collapsed onto the sofa and reached for his food – the sandy haired advisor deliberately waited until Noctis had taken his first bite before he started to eat his own meal.

"I've gotta say Specs, you really know how to turn vegetables into something delicious," Noctis commented with a surprised expression.

"Well, you've got Noct's seal of approval, so it's gotta be good," Prompto mused aloud with a chuckle; digging into his own curry, "so what's the plan for tomorrow?" He asked after swallowing a mouthful of food.

"That depends," Ignis replied, "we'll see how you're feeling."

"I keep telling you guys, I feel fine."

"Maybe so now, but it might be a different case in the morning – another day in Lestallum won't hurt."

"Have we got the money for that?" Gladiolus enquired.

Ignis pursed his lips and turned the curry over in his bowl with a thoughtful expression, "perhaps we ought to relocate to a camping ground tomorrow instead."

"Or," Noctis piped up in a suggestive tone, "Gladio and I could go and do that hunt and a few other jobs for the local shops and we could stay here again tomorrow night?"

Ignis remained silent on the matter while he regarded the ebony haired prince with a calculating stare.

"Come on, Specs – we could really do with the extra gil and we won't have to constantly watch our backs while we're in Lestallum," Noctis urged his advisor, "we can handle it, right Gladio?" He prompted the brunette to aid in his argument.

"That and Prom's still looking a bit peaky – he needs a decent amount of rest and he won't be getting that if we're travelling from one camping ground to the next." Gladiolus joined in; he cast a worrisome glance towards Prompto.

 _"Pair of liars."_ Prompto mouthed silently behind Ignis's back while Noctis winked at the blond to get Prompto to play along.

"Besides, it couldn't hurt to put our faces out there to the local tipsters and businesses," the burly brunette pointed out, "that way we'll be able to pick up more jobs and requests when we return in the future."

"We can even pick up more ingredients while we're out, what d'you say, Specs?" Noctis finished with a grin.

After a few more moments of consideration, Ignis finally let out a defeated sigh, "fine."

The sandy haired man frowned as Gladiolus and Noctis gave each other a high five with excitable looks upon their faces.

"But you are to be back in Lestallum before sunset and if you run into any trouble you are to call Prompto or myself straight away," Ignis told the prince and his shield in a warning tone before he then turned his attention towards Prompto, "which leave you and I, would you mind helping me tomorrow?"

"Sure," the blond nodded enthusiastically, "what are we doing?"

"I've managed to obtain some maps of the surrounding area; I thought that it'd be wise to mark any procurement points for future reference."

Prompto felt his enthusiasm dampen slightly, but was able to hide this from the older man with a wide grin, "yeah, sounds like fun."


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: Hi again, I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter._**

 ** _Thank you to those who favourited and followed this fanfic already, I really appreciate your support :)_**

 ** _This chapter ended up being a lot longer than I had originally intended - I'm sorry - and I tried to go back through it to check for any typos but after reading through it so many times it get harder to spot these things, so if you do notice any I would be really grateful if you could just drop me a message and I'll correct it as soon as possible._**

 ** _If you're coming back to this story, I went back into the first chapter a week or so ago to change a few things to save you from rereading it Prompto is now standing on a stack of boxes when he dropped his camera - it's only a little thing but I thought I'd let you know. If I do make changes to chapters in the future, I'll mention it in the author's note of the most recent chapter._**

 ** _I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and thank you for taking time to read this_**

 ** _~Fox_**

* * *

The four friends walked through the densely populated town of Lestallum; a pinkish haze coloured the patches of the sky that Prompto could see in between the towering buildings - the blond was surprised at how lively the streets were at this time of the morning; especially considering that he could hear the buzz of the town and upbeat music throughout most of the night.

Ignis - who had been awake since at least half past four in the morning; spending the quieter hours of the morning to focus on mapping out routes and creating schedules for the relevant hunts and jobs that were to be carried out by prince and his shield throughout the day - lead the group through the crowds of people. He easily dodged past both civilians and shouting vendors while simultaneously giving Gladiolus a list of instructions.

Gladiolus - who was not able to pass through the crowds as nimbly as the bespectacled advisor due to his size - struggled to keep up to Ignis's pace and often had to ask the younger man to repeat himself just to make sure that he had definitely heard Ignis correctly.

Noctis, on the other hand, stumbled through Lestallum with bleary eyes while he yawned almost constantly - Prompto was fairly certain that the raven haired man had managed to stagger through the bustling streets with his eyes closed almost the entire trek towards the car park; the blond had to admit that he was impressed that his friend hadn't collided with a stranger or tripped over at this point.

The prince let himself fall behind Gladiolus and Ignis, and soon lost the older pair to the hectic pavements - but he was inwardly glad that Prompto had remained at his side instead. The ebony haired man let his attention wander towards the nearby stands and their merchants; he was seemingly unbothered by hustle and bustle of the early morning commuters - whereas Prompto was beginning to find the noise to be quite overwhelming.

Noctis slowed his pace as he and Prompto drew closer to a stall that was selling a vast array of mixed goods to glance over the items and their price tags with interest.

"Good morning, fellas," the stall vendor was quickly at their side to greet the two boys, "see anything you like?"

"We're just browsing." Noctis told the merchant with a small smile.

"Browse away, boys, just give me a shout if there's anything I can help you with," the man nodded enthusiastically and returned the prince's before he then turned his attention towards another customer who was standing nearby, "hello ma'am, can I help you with that? It's a fine purchase if I do say so myself - I acquired it from a lovely gentleman in Galdin Quay, it has daemon repelling qualities -"

"Folks are real friendly around here," Prompto voiced aloud as he watched the conversation between the trader and his customer, "nothing is too much trouble."

"Yeah, it's definitely different from the crown city," Noctis agreed as he stepped away from the stall and cast his eyes about himself in search of Gladiolus and Ignis before he pressed through the crowds towards the car park with his blond friend close by once more.

Noctis and Prompto were able to catch up with Gladiolus and Ignis before the pair reached the main road that separated the buildings of Lestallum from the car park, the four men split off into pairs as soon as they reached the Regalia in Lestallum's car park - Gladiolus and Noctis stood closest to the black vehicle while Prompto positioned himself beside Ignis.

"- don't, under any circumstances, let Noct drive out of the Cleigne area unless you absolutely have to." Ignis told the brunette.

"Gotcha," Gladiolus gave a small curt nod; he was only half listening to the sandy haired man at this point.

"And don't undertake any requests or hunts that are too dangerous, I'd rather you both came back in one piece."

"Alright."

"Don't forget to call myself or Prompto as soon as you get to area marked on the map and when you're heading back to Lestallum or if you run into any trouble." Ignis instructed as he handed over one of the maps that he had been pouring over earlier that morning.

"You don't need to worry so much, we'll be fine," Gladiolus reassured the younger man with a grin.

"It's only one of you I'm really worried about," Ignis murmured more to himself than to the burly brunette as he cast his gaze towards the young prince.

"He's with me, I won't let anything happen to him."

The sandy haired man watched as the ebony haired prince slid into the driver's seat of the Regalia and carefully buckled his seat belt before he rested his head on the steering wheel with a small sigh.

"Keep an eye on him, Gladio."

"And you keep an eye on Prompto." The brunette muttered in a low tone so that only Ignis could hear him. "Come on, Sleeping Beauty. We're heading out." The prince's shield announced loudly as he opened the car door and clambered into the passenger seat beside Noctis. "Those Bulettes aren't going to hunt themselves."

"We might just get lucky, you never know," came Noctis's muffled voice, "then we can just claim the bounty."

"Nice try - this one is a request, not a hunt. Besides, where's the fun in that?" Gladiolus gave Noctis a light nudge. "Anyway this was your idea in the first place - so shape up and look sharp."

With an exhausted groan, the raven haired man sat up straight in his seat and turned the Regalia's key in the ignition; making the vehicle's engine roar into life before the noise dulled down into a soft purr.

Noctis had waited until he was sure that both Ignis and Prompto were safely out of the way before he carefully guided the Regalia up a ramp and out of Lestallum's car park; the raven haired man steered the car towards the right as he reached the road - meanwhile Prompto and Ignis followed the Regalia to the main road from a safe distance.

"Don't have too much fun without us!" Prompto shouted after the car as he and Ignis stopped following the Regalia's tracks to stop at the edge of Lestallum - just beside the opening of the tunnel - to watch the vehicle fall out of sight as it turned around a bend in the road. The blond saw Noctis raise a hand to wave goodbye before he disappeared.

"Shall we?" The sandy haired man indicated at Prompto to follow him to the Leville hotel as he began to walk in its direction.

Prompto nodded as he stole a final glance at the tunnel before he followed in the bespectacled man's footsteps - he watched closely as Ignis easily passed through the crowds once again without so much as brushing against another person.

Ignis gave a small wave in greeting to the reception clerk as he and the blond strode past the hotel's front desk and began to ascend the staircase to their suite; both men chimed "good morning" as they passed the uniformed receptionist.

A sudden thought struck the blond as he followed the royal advisor over the threshold into their room and closed the door behind himself.

"Oh!" Prompto slapped the palm of his hand against his own forehead and inwardly swore at himself. "I should've given them my camera- they could've got some pictures for me."

"Um - about that," Ignis pursed his lips and gave the blond a sideways glance as he crossed the hotel room and took an object that had been delicately swathed in cloth out of the drawer of one of the bedside cabinets, "I tried to fix it myself while you were asleep last night, I was able to make a few minor improvements to its condition - unfortunately there wasn't much I could do," the sandy haired man turned around to face Prompto - Ignis carefully unwrapped the fabric as he did so - to show the blond the broken camera with an apologetic expression, "I'm sorry."

The blond slowly approached Ignis; taking the camera from the older man's hands and gently turning it over in his own hands - inspecting the damage with every cautious movement.

The glass from the lens was shattered, the camera's hand grip was scratched and chipped in places - Prompto was fairly certain that it wouldn't take much until the front and back of the camera's body fell apart; even though he was holding the camera as warily as he could, Prompto was still worried that the slightest touch might cause the device to fall to pieces. The shutter button had completely fallen off from the impact of the fall, due to the fact that the button itself was nowhere to be seen, the blond assumed that Ignis had been unable to find it when he had tried to fix the camera. Prompto readjusted his grip slightly to ensure that he wouldn't drop the camera again as he reached for the power button and watched as the LCD screen flickered into life - a large black mark filled most of the screen; leaving only a single line that stretched diagonally across the display screen and a small cluster in the corner of the screen to light up. The blond pushed the power button again - turning the device off this time - and cautiously brought the viewfinder up to his eye only to discover that that too had been shattered.

Prompto cleared his throat in an attempt to stop it from constricting and tried his best to hide his face from Ignis - in order to hide the fact that he was trying to fight back the tears welling up in his eyes - as he placed the broken camera on the low coffee table that stood between the two armchairs and the sofa; he was horribly aware that the older man had been watching his every movement tentatively.

"Well," the blond forced himself to give a small laugh; more for Ignis's benefit than his own, "looks like I'll be using the camera on my phone for a while, doesn't it?"

"I truly am sorry." Ignis frowned at his companion.

"Nah, don't be." Prompto shrugged off the bespectacled man's apology while he began to pace around the room; he stared at the ceiling to avoid eye contact with Ignis, "it was my own fault for dropping it - I should've been more careful with it. Anyway, this map isn't going to mark itself up, is it?" Prompto clapped his hands together to draw the sandy haired man's attention towards something other than the broken camera. The blond perched himself on the edge of the leather sofa and motioned at Ignis to do the same as he pulled the coffee table closer to himself and started to clear a space for Ignis's map.

Ignis silently withdrew the map in question from the inside pocket of his jacket before he settled himself down on the sofa beside Prompto and carefully laid the map out in front of them. He then reached into his jacket pocket once more; this time to retrieve a couple of smart looking pens - one of which he handed to the younger man - and a little black, leather bound notebook that the bespectacled man usually reserved for newly discovered recipes.

"I've already made a few notes in here," the sandy haired man gave the notebook a small wave before he set it down on the table, "that should make the task easier for us."

"The ever resourceful Ignis Scientia," Prompto mused to himself out loud with a slight grin.

The pair set to work on the map, their silence remained unbroken unless Ignis or Prompto needed to double check the site of a haven or procurement point before they plotted it on the map and again when Gladiolus had called Ignis's mobile phone to informed the bespectacled man that he and Noctis had arrived at their location of their first job.

After a few hours, Ignis had excused himself and left the hotel room - leaving Prompto to slump back on the sofa and heave a tedious sigh as he stared at the pieces of paper that had been torn from Ignis's notebook and strewn about on the table while he fiddled idly with the pen.

"I bet Noct and Gladio are having loads of fun," he sighed glumly to himself, "at least they get to go out and explore; I'm stuck here." The blond added bitterly as he lightly threw Ignis's pen onto the coffee table and watched as it settled onto the map over the Duscae region.

The hotel's suite door creaked open as the sandy haired advisor re-entered the room; holding two mugs in his hands.

"I thought that you might want to take a quick break," Ignis told the blond as he offered one of the steaming mugs to Prompto, "tea?"

"I always thought that you were more of a coffee guy," Prompto said as he took the mug and sipped at the tea.

"I do prefer coffee," Ignis confessed as he regained his seat beside the younger man, "but I'll have to make do with tea for now - I've left my supply of Ebony in the Regalia."

"Which is with Noct and Gladio," Prompto chuckled mischievously, "I wonder how many Noct has drunk." He added in a teasing tone.

"Thankfully, the prince doesn't like coffee."

"He still drinks it sometimes," the blond pointed out in the same teasing voice.

"In which case - he'll touch none of it if he values his life; I doubt he'll check the trunk anyway," the bespectacled man countered calmly as he took a mouthful of his own drink, "is the memory card salvageable?"

"Memory card?" Prompto asked with a quizzical frown as he followed Ignis's gaze towards the broken camera that Prompto had placed on the table earlier. "Oh! Yeah, that should be fine - I'll just have to see if I can get the pictures printed or something sometime."

"May I ask what the pictures are for?"

Prompto pretended to cast his eyes about himself in deep thought, "oh, you know. I thought I'd use my friendship with Noct for profit - I'm sure that some of my pictures will sell for a pretty Gil."

"I'm afraid that I can't let you do that; your photographs may damage the prince's image."

"Not even one?"

Ignis gave a short laugh and cast another sideways glance at the blond, "I might let one escape my notice - just make sure it's a good one."

"I knew that you had a sense of humour," Prompto laughed as he nudged the older man playfully.

"We can probably get your photographs printed here in Lestallum." Ignis suggested.

Prompto shook his head at the sandy haired man, "we're strapped for money as it is," he let his eyes wander over the many pieces of paper that littered their work space once more, "is it really okay to be tearing these pages out of your notebook? What about your recipes?"

"I have another notebook; I'll transfer the information over later," Ignis shrugged; he cleared a space on the coffee table to set his drink down before he checked the time on his wrist watch, "do you fancy stretching your legs around town?"

"Sure," Prompto quickly gulped his tea down in a few mouthfuls and jumped to his feet; he was beginning to find that their lodgings were beginning to make him feel cooped up and claustrophobic - so he was grateful for the chance to go outside.

* * *

The ebony haired prince stabbed his Engine Blade into the soil at his feet and propped himself against his sword while he clutched at a small wound on the side of his abdomen.

Gladiolus panted as he staggered to Noctis's side - wiping the sweat from his brow and eyeing the raven haired man's injury as he did so.

"H- how you... holding up?" The brunette asked through heavy breaths.

"Fine." Noctis replied bluntly through gritted teeth; he let go of the hilt of the Engine Blade - letting the weapon disappear into a blue hue - and gently lowered himself down onto the grass. "Just great."

"Those Elder Coeurls can be troublesome - even when there's four of us," Gladiolus reassured Noctis as he knelt down on the ground beside the prince, "is it alright to have a look?"

"Knock yourself out," the younger man muttered wearily; he moved his hand away from the wound to shrug his jacket off and lift his t-shirt up above the wound to let the brunette have a better look, "just do me a favour and don't tell Ignis about this."

"Are you kidding?" Gladiolus chortled as he withdrew a small first aid kit from the pocket of his own jacket and began to clean the ebony haired man's wound with a swab - causing the prince to wince in pain and swear under his breath. "He'll never let us go on hunts on our own ever again if he found out that you got injured on my watch - I'd hate to think what he would do if he ever finds out that we disobeyed his orders," he added as he flashed a mischievous grin at Noctis.

As soon as the wound was cleaned and the bleeding stemmed, Gladiolus inspected the legion.

"Looks like you were caught by one of those Elder Coeurls' claws," the brunette lightly traced his fingers over the three lacerations around the site of Noctis's injury, "but it looks superficial so you should be okay; just put a dressing on it for now and keep it clean," Gladiolus informed the ebony haired man as he secured the wound with a simple dressing from the first aid kit, "a potion should help speed up the healing, but this will have to do until we can get back to the Regalia."

"Who knew that you of all people would make such a good nurse?"

"It comes with the job as a Kingsglaive."

"I should get you a uniform - what dress size are you again?"

"Nothing you say can tease me, I'm the one who's still in one piece."

"I took a bit of that Coeurl with me."

"Oh yeah? I'm pretty sure that I was the one who took it out while you were busy rolling around on the floor," the prince's shield murmured more to himself than the younger man.

"I got this," Noctis chimed triumphantly as he held up a large bristle of hair.

"A whisker?" Gladiolus asked with an unimpressed expression. "Wow, you've really outdone yourself this time, Noct."

"Sh- shut up!" Noctis snapped defensively as he pouted at the brunette. "I grabbed it because its a rare find - these whiskers are valued at one thousand and five hundred Gil - I overheard the merchant talking to a hunter at the Taelpar Rest Area just after we picked up the hunt in Schier Heights."

"Really?" The burly man gave Noctis an astonished stare. "Just for a few whiskers?"

"Just for one, actually."

"Maybe I should keep hold of it for safekeeping."

"Yeah right, you're only interested in it now that you know it's worth something," Noctis laughed as he lent backwards to reach for his jacket and carefully placed the whisker inside the breast pocket, "we'll save it for emergencies - how many did you take down?" Noctis asked curiously; the raven haired man winced again as Gladiolus accidentally put too much pressure on his wound while Noctis was moving.

"You're talking about the Elder Coeurls right? Including the one that got you; only three," the prince's shield replied as he finished the dressing with a reef knot, "you?"

"Less than you; I got two," the younger man sighed glumly as he pulled his t-shirt back down over his abdomen and rose to his feet - inspecting the damage done to his t-shirt by the Coeurl before he grabbed his jacket off of the ground and slung it back on as his ears picked up the rumbling sound of a large engine; his azure eyes scanned the sky above him until they finally found a large, metal airship heading their way, "I'm about to rectify that though."

"Imperials, huh?" The older man mused aloud as he followed Noctis's line of sight.

"Ready for round two, big guy?"

"Are you sure that you can handle it?" Gladiolus smirked with a nod towards the prince's stomach as he stooped down to pick up the great sword that he had dropped earlier to tend to Noctis's injuries.

"What harm can a few MTs do?" Noctis replied coolly; he held his hand out to grab the hilt of his sword as the Engine Blade reappeared from the same blue hue. "Besides, I won't give you the satisfaction of winning this round - you can bet on that."

"A bet, hm? That'll make things interesting."

The prince and his shield readied their weapons and shifted themselves into offensive stances as the imperial airship drew closer and closer overhead.

"If I win..." Gladiolus paused for a moment to carefully contemplate the rest of his sentence, "you have to get up early and come for a run with me every day for a whole month."

"E- every day?" Noctis gaped at the brunette in disbelief.

"Scared?"

"No way!" The prince readjusted his grip on the Engine Blade as the doors of the airship opened and at least eight Magitek Troopers prepared themselves to jump to the ground, "in that case, if I win you have to give up cup noodles for a whole month!"

"Oho! You're on - and don't worry, I'll enjoy my cup noodles tonight. Don't forget to set an alarm for the morning."

The pair shared a determined grin as eight pairs of feet slammed onto the ground with dull thuds before the pair charged forwards and threw themselves into the fray.

* * *

Gladiolus paced past the gas pumps at the Taelpar Rest Area before he pivoted on the spot and strode past them again but in the opposite direction this time - he repeated this motion continuously while his raven haired companion used one of the gas pumps to fill the Regalia's gas tank.

The brunette had his mobile phone pressed to his ear and would roll his eyes or heave an impatient sigh every so often while he waited for the recipient of his phone call to answer. Noctis, on the other hand, was lent against the bonnet of the Regalia with his arms folded across his chest; a vacant expression had settled over his features and his eyes seemed to stare out at the road without actually seeing it - his expression was only broken when he let out a yawn.

"Iggy!" The older man's face lit up - only to fall back into a scowl as he muttered a swear word under his breath.

"Voicemail?" Noctis asked as he flashed a cocky grin at the burly man over his shoulder. "It catches me out every time too," he then cleared his throat and began to recite the bespectacled man's voicemail message in an awful impression of Ignis's voice, "hello, you have reached the voicemail of Ignis Stupeo Scientia, I'm sorry I couldn't answer your -"

"Cut it out," the brunette shot at Noctis, "I'll try Prom instead," he disconnected his phone call to Ignis, dialled Prompto's phone number instead and pressed his phone to his ear again, "if that fails I'll just have to call the hotel."

"You don't seem to be having much luck today, do you?" The ebony haired man teased as he carefully removed the gas pump from the Regalia's tank and returned it to its designated holster.

"You're starting to push yours," Gladiolus retorted before he quickly adopted a much friendlier tone, hiya Prompto, I just tried to call Iggy, are you guys alright?" The brunette began to idly walk away from the prince as he spoke, "- we're just calling to let you know that we're almost done with our jobs... it was all fine tell Ignis to quit worrying -" the prince's shield gave a small curt nod; as though the blond was standing in front of him rather than talking to him over the phone, "- we should have just enough Gil to buy some fresh ingredients, we can do that in the market on the way back to the hotel."

Noctis snorted, "we'll have enough plenty of Gil after we cash in the bounty on those Coeurls."

Gladiolus shot the ebony haired man a warning glare as he continued to speak to Prompto, "alright, we'll deliver the goods and then we'll be on our way back to Lestallum - see you later." He ended the phone call with Prompto before he turned to address Noctis once more. "We're definitely going to have to keep quiet about those Coeurls; Ignis has already noticed that we're running late and it'll look even more suspicious if we turn up with too much extra Gil - unless you'd rather tell him that we went off and took on more hunts on our own."

"I didn't think of that - I think I'd rather have ten more rounds with the Elder Coeurls than face Ignis's wrath," Noctis admitted with a shudder - he bit his lip thoughtfully, "we don't have to tell him that we got the Gil from hunts; we could just say that Dave gave it to us in exchange for retrieving another dog tag."

"Bit of a hefty reward for a dog tag, isn't it?" The older man questioned in an amused voice. "Sure that'll account for some of the Gil and time, but it's still a bit farfetched."

"I'm sure that we'll be able to think of a good cover story before we get back to Lestallum," Noctis shrugged the matter off as he moved his gaze to the objects that were resting on the backseat of the Regalia, "have we got room for the Bulette Carapaces in the trunk?"

"No idea; have a look." The prince's shield said as he turned his attention towards a text message on his phone.

Noctis heaved an exasperated sigh as he moved towards the back of the vehicle and opened the trunk of the Regalia - his eyes swept over the herbs and vegetables that the four friends had picked up on their travels prior to their stop in Lestallum before he tried to clear a space for the carapaces.

"Why do we need fresh ingredients? We've still got some in the trunk." Noctis said with a frown as he picked up a loose Duscaen orange and rolled it over in his hand while inspecting the fruit closely.

"They must be the only ingredients we have left, Ignis says that we're running low on supplies," Gladiolus informed the prince as he locked his phone and returned it to the pocket of his trousers before he moved to Noctis's side, "looks like we're running low on potions too," the brunette added as he handed his ebony haired companion one of the few remaining vials.

"Couldn't hurt to pick up some more, I don't think Specs has done an inventory count for a while," Noctis shrugged as he pulled the stop off of the vial, "it's a good thing we took on more hunts then, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but it's still worth failing to mention that to Iggy - which reminds me, change your shirt," Gladiolus instructed as he motioned towards the tears in the prince's t-shirt, "he'll only ask questions if he sees that."

"He's going to ask questions when he realises that I've changed my clothes too."

"We'll just tell him that they got too dirty," the older man explained as he shoved a white t-shirt and a pair of black jeans into Noctis's free hand, before he reached back into the trunk of the Regalia once more, "I'll change my clothes too - it'll make our excuse more believable."

Noctis gave a small laugh before he swallowed the potion in one mouthful.

"What's so funny?" Gladiolus quirked a quizzical eyebrow at the younger man.

"Ignis," the raven haired prince replied simply as he discarded the empty vial into the trunk of the car, "I was just thinking about how laid back he used to be - he even used to help me sneak out of the Citadel when we were kids -"

"- and then take the blame when you were caught." The older man reminded Noctis.

"He's so serious all the time now," the prince's smile started to falter, "I wish he'd just get off my back sometimes."

Gladiolus regarded the younger man with a surveying stare for a few moments before his expression softened, "he's worried about you - with the Empire constantly on our tails and these pacts with the Astrals, he's just worried that it's going to be too much and he doesn't want to see you fail. It would probably set his mind at ease if he saw you taking some responsibility and thinking your actions through."

Noctis nodded slowly with a thoughtful expression, "and you?"

"What about me?"

"What do you think?"

"I think it's getting late and that we shouldn't give Iggy and Prompto a reason to worry," the brunette chuckled as he clapped a hand on the raven haired prince's shoulder - Gladiolus's change in demeanour broke the serious atmosphere between the two men, "now hurry up and get changed while I move these carapaces."

* * *

The sun had already sunk low in the sky by the time the black car crept into Lestallum's car park - casting a palate of red, orange and yellow above the industrial town and as far as the eye could see.

Prompto - who had been stuck listening to a culinary conversation between Ignis and a food vendor in the car park - glanced over his shoulder as the familiar hum of the Regalia reached his ears.

He tapped his sandy haired companion lightly on the shoulder while he gave the vendor an apologetic smile - although he was secretly grateful to be able to finally pull Ignis away from his deep discussion.

"Um, Ignis?" Prompto succeeded in drawing the older man's attention and motioned towards the Regalia as Ignis turned to address him.

"My apologies," Ignis bowed his head at the vendor before he and Prompto quickly crossed the tarmac to the place where the familiar black vehicle was now parked, "you're cutting it a bit fine."

"Hi to you too, Specs." Noctis greeted his advisor as he clambered out of the car.

"We had to make another stop on the way back," Gladiolus lied easily as he got out of the car too, "but we are back now later than sunset - as promised."

"What happened to your clothes?" Ignis frowned as he eyed Noctis's white t-shirt and black jeans as well as Gladiolus's black vest top and white trousers. "You were both wearing your Crownsguard fatigues before you left."

"After all that running around and doing those requests they got filthy," the brunette explained as he moved to the trunk of the Regalia and began to retrieve the Bulette Carapaces, "we didn't think that it would be a good idea to tread all that dirt back into the hotel or the Regalia so we cleaned up before we came back - give me a hand, Iggy."

Without another word, Ignis accepted Gladiolus's explanation and held his arms out expectantly as he moved to the shield's side while Gladiolus carefully piled the carapaces into the sandy haired man's arms.

After each of the four men had taken their fair share of the carapaces, the group carefully headed up the stone steps out of the car park and onto the main road where Ignis took the lead and began to pass through the cobbled streets in the eastern regions of Lestallum.

"You seem a lot perkier today." Gladiolus commented as he cast his gaze towards Prompto.

"Yep!" The blond chimed happily. "I'm as good as new - must've been Ignis's cooking."

"Or the fact that you got a decent rest."

"Either way, I'm raring to go!"

"Then we can move away from Lestallum tomorrow and start looking for more royal tombs," said Ignis; he slowed his pace and came to a halt as they reached the Culless Munitions store window.

"The only problem is where to start looking," Noctis pointed out with a small grimace.

"We'll just have to keep taking on hunts and jobs until we're able to get a lead," Gladiolus shrugged.

Noctis approached the store window and cleared his throat to draw the clerk's attention, "we got the things you wanted."

"Hm?" The trader glanced up from his work and eyed the Bulette Carapaces eagerly. "Oh, great! Now we'll be able to ramp up our production." He slid off of his stool as he spoke and headed out of a side door before reappearing at Noctis's side - where he collected up the carapaces in his arms. "Thanks heaps; I hope we can rely on you again - I'll make sure that you get a discount on all of our arms for your help."

"Thanks," Noctis replied with a small, but grateful nod as the man retrieved the rest of the carapaces from Ignis, Gladiolus and Prompto before the four men took a slow walk through Lestallum's busy streets.

As the sky began to darken, lights flickered into life all around the town - giving the area a warm and welcoming glow.

Music and laughter filled the air as more people than usual lined the cobbled streets.

"This place really comes alive at night," Prompto mused aloud as he returned a wave to a civilian.

"Is there a festival or something going on?" Noctis asked as he too noticed the change in atmosphere.

"No - I believe the work day has just ended," Ignis replied, "their main source of employment in Lestallum is the EXINERIS power plant - their shifts usually finishes around this time," he added as he checked the time on a small watch on his wrist, "from what I've heard, only women work there."

"I'm not complaining about that." Gladiolus murmured more to himself as he cast an interested glance at a group of women who were standing close by - the women were wearing small tank tops that left their midriffs bare and a pair of jeans shorts beneath their thermal suits; which were now left open to help them cool down after a long day of work.

"Dude, seriously?" Prompto scoffed at the burly man.

"Just because you have no luck with the ladies, doesn't mean I can't try," Gladiolus teased; flashing a smirk at the blond as he detached himself from the group, "why don't you run along and play with Noct? I'm gonna go and see what Lestallum has to offer."

"No fair, I wanna come too!" Prompto whined as he followed in the brunette's footsteps.

"And ruin my chances? No way!"

"Don't be so cold!"

Prompto and Gladiolus left Ignis and Noctis to watch as the pair disappeared into the crowds while they continued to bicker between themselves and shove each other playfully.

"Aren't you joining them, Noct?" The bespectacled man asked as Noctis spun on the spot and began to walk in the opposite direction of his friends.

"Let them have their fun," Noctis grinned to himself, "I think I'd rather try Lestallum's meat skewers, you coming?"

"That does sound much more inviting." Ignis gave a small smile as he joined the prince's side once more.

"Besides, I've got a fair bit of laundry to do when we get back to the hotel," the raven haired man mused, "oh! That reminds me, have you got a spare sewing kit?"


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N:** I have a fair few things to apologise for this time so I'm just going to list them in this author's note;_

 _1.) Late update - I should've actually uploaded this chapter at the beginning of the week but due to many factors (including motivation - or lack of) I've only just finished typing this chapter up_

 _2.) Spelling and grammar - I'm really bad at checking for this kind of stuff; probably because I'm so used to writing, reading, re-writing and re-reading this chapter that my brain automatically skips over the mistakes. So if you do notice any I would be really grateful if you could just leave a review/ comment or send me a message (whatever you're more comfortable with) about it if possible. Thank you :)_

 _3.) This chapter is longer than expected, it's actually only got about half of the content I originally planned for it so I kinda had to curb it somewhere. I'm sorry if this chapter is too long, I'll try and stick to between 4,000 and 6,000 words in future._

 _4.) Driving. You'll see what I mean. I'm sorry._

 _I'd just like to thank you to those who have favourite/ followed/ subscribed/ left kudos (depending on what website you're reading this on) on this fanfiction and to those who have taken time to read this fanfiction - I really appreciate your support and hope you continue to enjoy reading Override :)_

 _I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, thank you again :)_

 _~Fox_

* * *

Noctis squinted against the bright sunlight that filtered through the panelled doors of the balcony before he quickly closed his eyes against the offending light and buried his head into his soft pillows with a disgruntled groan.

The prince remained still for a while; he listened closely to the low hum of the many conversations in the streets just beyond the panelled doors – he then changed his focus to his immediate surroundings; quickly noting the still air of the hotel room.

The raven haired man sat bolt upright in his bed and cast his eyes around the room – the first thing that Noctis noticed was that the space beside him in the bed – which had been occupied by Prompto last night – was now vacant.

The other bed – which had been shared by Gladiolus and Ignis – was also empty; the sheets of the bed had been pulled over neatly and tucked in carefully at the side with the pillows resting smartly on top of the spread. At the end of the bed, Noctis's clothes for the day had been laid out ready for when the prince awakened – which consisted of his usual attired of a steel grey t-shirt (the prince had waited until Ignis had retired for the night to stayed up late to repair the damage that had been caused by the Elder Coeurls), a short sleeved, black leather jacket and a pair of black, cropped cargo trousers. Noctis immediately recognised this to be Ignis's handiwork.

The prince swung his legs over the edge of the bed – his feet brushed against a pair of black, buckled boots that had been tucked together on the floor beside his bed; next to his boots stood a small rucksack. The ebony haired man then pushed himself gently off of the bed and stumbled towards the balcony.

"Guys?" He called out as he pulled the doors open and stepped out into the fresh air; he flinched against the brighter sunlight and raised a hand to shield his eyes until they were able to adjust to the light.

Noctis glanced around the vacant balcony - frowning at the absence of his friends – and instead turned his attention towards the streets below; where he quickly spotted a familiar blond wearing black who standing close to the water fountain.

The ebony haired man quickly retraced his steps back into the hotel room and grabbed the pile of clothes that had been left out for him before he then shut himself in the bathroom to freshen up and change out of his casual wear – pausing only to stifle a yawn.

As soon as he was dressed in his fatigues, Noctis tore out of the bathroom and stuffed his old clothes into the rucksack. He quickly made the bed that he had slept in – knowing that if he hadn't done so, Ignis would make a remark about it later – before he slung the rucksack over his shoulder and headed out of the hotel room; grabbing his phone and its charger off of the bedside table before he departed.

Noctis quickly darted down the stairs and into the lobby of the Leville Hotel – he slowed his pace as he crossed the threshold of the Leville's main entrance and stepped into the warm sunlight once more; Noctis yawned widely and stretched his arms above his head before he then readjusted his grip on the strap of his bag.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty!"

The prince's eyes followed the source of the voice until his gaze fell upon his blond best friend – who had moved from his position in front of the water fountain and was now lent against one of the hotel's pillars with his arms folded across his chest.

"Morning," Noctis barely managed between another yawn, "where's Specs and Gladio?"

"Gladio wanted to check out the market so Iggy tagged along with him," Prompto replied as he gently pushed himself off of the pillar and joined Noctis's side.

"Didn't you want to join them?"

"Nah, I saw enough of the market with Ignis yesterday so I thought I'd hand out here and wait for you."  
"You should've woken me up sooner then," Noctis gave a small laugh despite the fact that he was secretly relieved to see that one of his friends has waited for him; he began to head towards a side street to the left of the Leville Hotel and beckoned at Prompto to follow his lead while he checked the time on his mobile phone, "it's half past nine already!"

"If I woke you up any earlier, you'd probably be a crouch all day," the blond chuckled lightly as he fell into step beside the ebony haired man, "what time did you go to bed last night?"

Noctis remained in silent thought for a moment as he traced through his memories of the previous night, "I think it was about two o'clock."

"Two o'clock?" The blond shot at Noctis in a disbelieving tone.

"It was definitely before three." Noctis chuckled.

The two friends soon approached a narrower alley which led towards a small clearing between a number of large buildings that had been filled to bursting with market stalls.

Stalls lined the walls of the buildings that enclosed the market as well as in the centre of the market place – leaving a makeshift path to guide the civilians around the enclosed space that allowed easy access to every vendor and their stand; but movement had become more restricted due to the amount of people who had been pressed into such a compact area.

Vendors and salesmen called out to offer various discounts and deals on their merchandise in hopes of attracting more customers.

"This should be fun." Noctis murmured more to himself than to his friend as he slowed his pace to a halt at the mouth of the alley and let his eyes scan the crowds.

"They're in there somewhere," Prompto piped up with an air of amusement, "do you want to split up and search?"

"No need to – Gladio's right there." Noctis pointed towards the brunette; who towered over almost everyone else in the market place.

Gladiolus was standing close to one of the stalls – he was lent forwards slightly with a look of interest on his face.

Ignis was stood at Gladiolus's side – his head was just visible at the burly brunette's shoulder.

"Ah, the perks of being friends with a giant." Prompto joked as he and his raven haired friend weaved through the market.

"Good morning," Ignis greeted the pair with a small nod as Noctis and Prompto drew closer, "sleep well?"

"Like a log," Noctis replied.

"Good, are we all set then?"

"I'm ready when you guys are." The prince readjusted his grip on the rucksack again to reaffirm his statement.

"Where are we going?" Prompto asked curiously.

"We're just catching up on a few more job requests today," the raven haired man answered with an indifferent shrug as he pivoted on the spot and headed back towards the alleyway – with his retinue following closely behind him, "Ignis said that it'd be a good idea to save up some money - just in case we have to make more emergency stops any time soon."

"It's better to be prepared." Ignis said as he carefully repositioned his glasses.

"We have a fair few requests that we still have to see to anyway," Gladiolus pointed out, "we better start finishing some of them off soon before we piss someone off."

"That's not quite how I would've worded it, but Gladio's right," the sandy haired advisor spoke up again, "where do you want to start, Noct?"

"How about Vyv?" Noctis suggested. "He only wanted some photographs, right? That sounds easy enough."

Prompto felt a pang in his chest at the mention of photographs as his broken camera resurfaced in his mind.

"We can't take any pictures without a working camera," Gladiolus reminded the prince as he glanced towards the blond with a sympathetic expression.

Noctis smacked the palm of his hand against his own forehead and let out a groan, "right, I forgot. Sorry, Prom." He added; throwing the blond an apologetic glance.

"What about the request we got from Takka?" Ignis proposed as the four men crossed the main road and headed down the stone steps into the car park.

"Beans," Noctis heaved an unenthusiastic sigh, "alright."

"Well I'm excited," Prompto chimed in; he had been feeling guilty at the fact that the four of them had stayed in Lestallum for his benefit and was glad to finally be able to travel at his friends' side once more, "even if it is just beans."

"I'm not gonna argue." Gladiolus added as the four men clambered into the seats of the Regalia.

Ignis took the driver's seat while Prompto resumed his usual spot in the front passenger seat. Gladiolus had waited until Prompto had adjusted his seat before he climbed into the space behind the blond while Noctis took the seat behind Ignis's and tucked his bag between his legs.

"That settles it then," Ignis announced – he then waited until his companions had buckled their seatbelts before he put the key in the Regalia's ignition and steered the vehicle out of Lestallum with great care, "would you mind giving me directions when we get closer? I put the map in the glovebox this morning." The bespectacled man added to Prompto as he nodded towards a compartment in the dashboard that was in front of Prompto.

The blond silently complied with Ignis's request and retrieved the map – after quickly checking where their destination was plotted, the blond kept the map folded in the breast pocket of his jacket for safekeeping and waited for Ignis's cue; in the meantime, Prompto happily settled back in his seat and watched as Lestallum fell further and further away in his side view mirror. He could hear Gladiolus start a conversation with Noctis in a low voice behind him while Ignis lightly drummed his fingers against the steering wheel with his eyes transfixed on the road ahead.

After a while, the bespectacled man's eyes flickered away from the road for a fraction of a second to glance down towards the dials on the dashboard.

"Noct, did you refuel the car yesterday?" Ignis asked with a quizzical frown as his gaze flitted towards the fuel gauge again.

"Of course I did," Noctis lent forwards in his seat to look at the dashboard over the sandy haired man's shoulder, "why? Is something wrong?"

"It just seems to be a bit on the low side is all," Ignis explained with a small dismissive shake of his head.

"Oh," the prince sat back in his seat again and shared a fugitive glance with Gladiolus, "I refuelled just after we finished the Bulette hunt yesterday, I must've forgotten to do it again before we came back to Lestallum." Noctis lied easily.

"Even so…"the advisor's sentence trailed off before he then decided to push the matter to the back of his mind, "it's not a problem, we'll just have to make a stop sooner than we had anticipated."

"The place that Takka marked on the map for us isn't too far from Old Lestallum," Prompto pointed out as he pulled the map out of his jacket pocket and searched for the aforementioned outpost, "but we should be able to get the beans first."

"That's lucky," Gladiolus mused aloud while he stared pointedly at Noctis – he then pulled a small book out of his own pocket; the brunette used the book to hide his face from the rear view mirror along with the sound of the Regalia's engine as well as the roar of the wind to have a whispered argument with Noctis without Ignis or Prompto being able to see or hear them.

The prince rolled his eyes at the brunette before he spoke up again in a louder voice than the one he had used to retaliate to Gladiolus, "have we got enough fuel to make it to Old Lestallum?" Noctis asked; leaning forwards once more to address his sandy haired friend.

Ignis pursed his lips thoughtfully, "it's hard to say, but we should be able to make it in time even with the added weight of the beans."

"Are there any outposts between here and there?" Gladiolus aimed his question at the blond in the front passenger seat.

"Only if we make a detour," Prompto replied as he traced one of the roads on the map with his finger, "but it'll be quicker if we just pick the beans up and go to Old Lestallum afterwards," the blond cautiously removed his seatbelt and lent on the back of his seat to show Noctis and Gladiolus the map; he pointed towards an outpost that was labelled as _'Burbost Souvenir Emporium'_ , "we'll come by it if we take the next right turn," Prompto added as he cast his gaze at the road over his shoulder, "but if we go to this other outpost, we might not be able to make it back to Takka before nightfall."

"What do you want to do, Noct?" Ignis asked; he slowed the vehicle to a halt as the road that Prompto had spoken about drew closer.

Noctis cast a thoughtful glance towards the road before he replied, "carry on, we'll refuel in Lestallum."

"Grab the legumes and make for a pit stop – sounds good to me." Prompto mused as the Regalia began to pick up speed again – he back around turned in his seat to sit down properly as he refolded the map and returned it to his breast pocket; he then crossed his arms on the top of the passenger side door to rest his head on while he closed his eyes and let the breeze caress his face. "So long as we don't end up pushing her to Old Lestallum anyway." The blond murmured to himself in an afterthought.

"The work out would do you the world of good," came Gladiolus's voice from behind the book that the brunette was now reading.

"Not everyone can be a muscle head like you." The prince muttered.

"Oh!" Prompto sat bolt upright again and turned excitedly towards Ignis. "We're going to Hammerhead after we've refuelled, right?"

"That's where Takka is." The sandy haired man nodded without taking his eyes off of the road.

"We should talk to Cindy while we're there!" The blond enthused. "Maybe she'll know how to help us cut down on the Regalia's fuel consumption or something."

"Are you sure that the Regalia is all you want to talk to her about?" Noctis asked in a low voice that only Gladiolus could hear while the brunette tried to stifle a laugh.

* * *

"It should be around here," Prompto told Ignis in an uncertain tone as he double checked the marker on the map before he cast his eyes about in confusion, "but I don't see any beans."

Ignis steered the Regalia to the side of the road and cut the engine before he then turned in his seat to take a look at the map with Prompto.

"We're definitely in the right place," Ignis murmured to himself, "let's have a look around the area."

"Wake up, Noct." Gladiolus gave the raven haired man a hard nudge to stir the prince from his sleep before he, Ignis and Prompto got out of the car.

"I was just resting my eyes," Noctis yawned as he groggily reached to open the car door and followed his friends' lead.

"So what are we looking for exactly?" Prompto enquired with a quizzical expression as his eyes swept from one end of the road to the other.

"Takka just said that his supplier got caught up," Noctis told his friends with a small shrug, "I thought that we'd just be looking for a truck on the roadside or something."

The four friends split off into different directions within a small radius.

The grassy area was sparsely populated with large rocks, trees and shrubs. In one direction Noctis could see that the power lines – that were used to transport large orange cable cars – seemed to stretch into the nearby town of Old Lestallum whereas his view in the opposite direction was obstructed by a vast concrete structure.

The ebony haired prince decided to search in an area that was not too far from where Prompto had begun to look; Noctis used the cover of the low bushes and trees to steal glances at the blond – he was still worried that Prompto may be feeling the effects from the headaches that the blond had suffered with a few days earlier; especially considering that Noctis had felt similar ailments himself before he had forged a covenant with the Archean.

Noctis was able to find some comfort in the fact that Prompto's demeanour didn't seem to change when the blond thought that he was alone and pushed his concerns to the back of his mind in order to focus on the task at hand.

Meanwhile, Gladiolus and Ignis had taken to conduct their search slightly closer to the roadside.

As Noctis moved around a small cluster of boulders he stumbled upon a small, blue truck that had been concealed between a large rock and a small tree.

"Found it!" The prince called over his shoulder.

"Well that was easy." Prompto commented as he moved to Noctis's side.

"Look alive, we've got company." Gladiolus told the two younger men as he appeared at Noctis's other side and pointed towards a pack of beasts – they had grey skin that was stretched over their skeletal bodies along with long, matted hair that draped over their hind legs and faces; leaving only their snouts exposed. Large yellowing talons extended from their hind and front legs while their spindly tails whipped back and forth threateningly with each step that they took.

"And I spoke too soon!" Prompto groaned.

"Havocfangs," Ignis noted as he re-joined his friends, "be wary, they're known to cause confusion – they're particularly vulnerable to ice spells as well as great swords and daggers."

"Right," Noctis replied in a vague voice; he had only been half listening to his sandy haired advisor, "gotcha." The prince crept around the boulders that were keeping him and his friends hidden from the beasts; his movements caught the attention of the closest Havocfang – it raised its head to stare at the spot where Noctis was now crouched while it moved its tail at a slow, warning rate. "Let's make quick work of this."

"Noct," Ignis warned in a low voice, "come back, we need to make a –"

Without listening to a word that the bespectacled man had said, Noctis withdrew and threw his Engine Blade at the closest beast – in a flash the prince disappeared from his original position only to reappear at the hilt of his sword within seconds; leaving nothing more than a temporary blue transparent outline of himself in the place where he had been crouched moments earlier.

"Idiot!" Gladiolus growled as he smacked himself on the forehead with the pam of his hand out of exasperation.

"Looks like we're going head on," Prompto laughed as he held out his hand to grab at a pistol as it appeared with a blue hue before he then climbed out from their hiding spot to join Noctis; aiming and firing his gun at as many of the Havocfangs as he could, "let's save the legumes, guys!"

Prompto rushed forwards past Noctis – swapping out his firearm for his Auto Crossbow as he did so.

"Goin' for it!" The blond yelled as he flashed past his best friend.

"Uh huh," came Noctis's reply as he swiftly moved out of Prompto's range of fire.

Prompto aimed the heavy machinery at the beast that Noctis had just been tackling and pulled the trigger; the blast from his Auto Crossbow forced the blond off of his feet as he tumbled backwards – he nearly landed on the ground but felt a pair of arms slink around his waist to take his weight and help lift him back onto his feet instead. Prompto glanced over his shoulder to see Noctis's smiling face behind him before the prince patted Prompto on the head and warped away to leave another blue translucent outline.

Ignis was quickly at the prince's side to fend off another beast that Noctis had failed to spot after his warp.

"Warp Strikes are not always the answer." Ignis lectured as he switched his daggers to a lance and gave the Havocfang in front of him a devastating blow.

"You were droning on and this seemed quicker – besides, I thought I was holding up quite well," Noctis smirked at the bespectacled man – earning himself a disapproving frown from the sandy haired man – before he then turned his attention towards the brawny brunette who was fighting close by, "Gladio!"

"Right!" Gladiolus grunted; he pushed one of the Havocfangs back with a heavy kick before he then grabbed his great sword and swung it in the direction of the beasts that were circling near Noctis and Ignis – creating a powerful, radiating attack.

"Nice work, Gladio!" The prince called out to his shield.

"It looks like we're nearly done here," Gladiolus commented as he paused for a moment to watch Prompto shoot down another beast with his firearm, "there's only two left – nice shot, Prom- huh?" The brunette cocked his head to one side with a curious expression as Prompto began to stagger around. "Hey Prom, you alright?"

Prompto began to panic as his vision blurred; he tripped on a small rock and fell to the ground.

"Not again, not again!" The blond muttered to himself as he scrambled to his feet and tried to follow the sound of his friends' voices while feeling his way around the terrain.

"I think that he may be a touched confused." Ignis frowned as he stole a glance in the blond's direction.

"I'm on it," Noctis told the two older men before he swiftly used the Engine Blade to warp to Prompto's side and pulled a vial of antidote out of his pocket – he then put a firm hand on Prompto's shoulder to make the blond stand still and pressed the vial into the blond's free hand, "drink this, Prom." The raven haired man instructed; he removed his hand from Prompto's shoulder to parry an attack from an advancing Havocfang.

"W- wait, I'm not confused," Prompto tried to tell Noctis in a frustrated tone as he took small cautious steps forwards and tried to feel for the prince.

After assuring that the beast was further away from the two boys, Noctis turned to face the blond again; he frowned when he spotted the untouched vial in Prompto's hand and the unfocused look upon the blond's face.

Noctis stepped towards his friend with the intentions to assist the blond with the antidote – only to quickly stop in his tracks with a stunned expression as he came face to face with the barrel of Prompto's gun.

"Prompto, what are you –?"

"Don't move." The blond warned in a low voice as his eyes snapped to Noctis's face and he carefully aimed his pistol.

Shock kept the ebony haired prince rooted to the spot; all he could do was flinch violently as the blond squeezed the trigger of his firearm; the bullet whizzed past Noctis's shoulder and connected with the Havocfang that had circled around after the prince had warded it off its first attack and pounced at Noctis while his back was turned.

Prompto was quickly finding that his vision was becoming clearer and clearer again by the second until he was able to make out Noctis's surprised expression. Prompto gave a small, inward sigh of relief and felt his panic ebb away as his eyesight returned to normal – he was thankful that he had just been able to see the movements of the attacking beast before any harm could come to Noctis.

The blond let his arm drop back down to his side before he approached the prince and returned the vial of antidote to Noctis's hand.

"The confusion wore off," the blond lied with a convincing grin, "you've really got to watch your back, Noct."

The prince was quick to pull himself out of his stupor as his surprised expression was quickly replaced of one of amusement, "I was busy watching yours – you ready?"

With determined nods, the pair were able to finish off the Havocfang while it was in a vulnerable state with a series of strikes from Noctis's Engine Blade and another blast from Prompto's Auto Crossbow just as Gladiolus and Ignis had dealt with the last remaining beast at the same time.

"The beans have _bean_ saved, boys," Gladiolus joked with a small chuckle as he let his great sword vanish.

"Don't start that again," Noctis groaned.

"Lighten up, Noct," Prompto smirked at the raven haired man while the prince gave him an unimpressed stare, "at least this job didn't amount to a hill of _beans_."

"We should get back to Hammerhead as soon as possible," Ignis roused the group back to the matter at hand, "Takka has _bean_ waiting for this delivery for quite some time, after all."

"Enough about the beans – seriously!" Noctis heaved a sigh as he strode up to the blue truck and pulled a wooden grate out of the back, "damn, these are heavy!"

"I'll take them if you want." Gladiolus offered as he joined Noctis beside the truck.

Noctis stepped aside to let the muscular man grab the grate before the four friends headed back to the Regalia.

"Next stop; Old Lestallum!" Prompto chimed happily.

"You're in a good mood." Noctis noted as he opened the trunk of the car so that Gladiolus could carefully store the grate inside.

"Yeah," Prompto nodded enthusiastically as he opened the front passenger side door of the Regalia and climbed into the car with an amused grin on his face, "I guess you could say that I'm full of _beans_."

"I swear to the Astrals –" Noctis muttered under his breath as he closed the trunk more forcefully than he had intended to.

"Temper, temper." Ignis tutted disapprovingly at the raven haired man.

* * *

"Look!" Prompto excitedly unbuckled his seatbelt as soon as the car pulled up to the gas pumps and climbed out of the Regalia again as his eyes fell upon an old diner – of which a large, ceramic black crow who was wearing a green sleeveless shirt with a matching cap; both of which had a yellow insignia. "It's the original Crow's Nest! I so wish I had my camera right now," the blond jogged across the road towards the diner; glancing over his shoulder only to call back at his group of friends, "I'm gonna look around, are you guys coming or what?"

"Right behind you," Gladiolus replied with a small wave at the blond as he closed the car door behind himself and followed in the younger man's footsteps while Noctis grabbed one of the gas pumps and began to refill the Regalia's tank.

"Don't wander too far," Ignis called after the brunette's retreating back as he got out of the car too – the sandy haired man decided to stay by Noctis's side instead, "we won't be stopping for long!"

Gladiolus raised a hand above his head to show the sandy haired man that he had heard what had been said before he and Prompto disappeared inside the diner.

Noctis let his attention to stray towards the Crow's Nest diner; he was just able to make out the silhouettes of Prompto and Gladiolus through the dirtied windows – from what Noctis could tell by their animated movements, the two men had already started a conversation with the tipster behind the counter.

A dull thud and a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye pulled the prince's focus away from the diner – he moved his gaze towards his sandy haired advisor.

Ignis had retrieved a small black can from the trunk of the Regalia – which Noctis instantly recognised to be Ebony coffee – before he moved to the prince's side.

"We should be able to reach Hammerhead before dusk," Ignis told the younger man as he opened the can in his hand and took a swig of coffee, "but it's still a long journey."

"I'll take the wheel from here," Noctis nodded at Ignis as he returned the gas pump to its holster – brushing his hands off after doing so – and lent against the bonnet of the Regalia while he let his eyes flit towards the silhouetted figures inside the diner once more.

"Is there something on your mind, Noct?" Ignis enquired while he tried to read the raven haired man's expression.

The prince pursed his lips thoughtfully as he folded his arms across his chest, pushed himself gently off of the car bonnet and turned to address Ignis, "actually, there is."

"Oh?" The bespectacled man quirked an interested eyebrow at Noctis while the ebony haired prince shifted uncomfortably on his feet and flashed a tentative glance at his advisor.

"I was thinking about Prompto –"

"Hey," Gladiolus's voice cut across Noctis's sentence; causing the prince to give a startled jump and to cast his eyes cautiously towards Gladiolus and Prompto as they drew closer.

"I'll tell you later," Noctis murmured to the sandy haired man in a hurried voice before either Gladiolus or Prompto could walk within earshot; leaving Ignis to give the raven haired man a questioning stare as he watched Noctis quickly regain his composure.

Gladiolus patted Noctis on the shoulder in order to gain the younger man's attention, "while we were in the diner we overheard the tipster talking to a hunter – he seemed to think that there is some sort of witch and her pet guarding a forest not too far from here."

"A… witch?" Noctis narrowed his eyes sceptically at the brunette.

"Yeah, we had the same thought at first too," the prince shield said as he noted Noctis's disbelieving stare, "but then the hunter started talking about rumours floating about the Meldacio Hunter HQ – apparently a few of their men have wandered into this forest only to return empty handed with stories of an enormous, unidentified beast. A lot of the hunting community believe that the beast is just a hallucination caused by toxic spores; but from what this guy was saying the higher ups at Meldacio have forbidden their hunters from entering the forest – I'm not sure about you, but I'm not convinced that a few toxic spores would keep the whole hunting community away." Gladiolus explained as he quirked a suggestive eyebrow at Noctis.

Noctis stood in deliberation for a few moments to allow the brunette's words to slowly process through his mind, "so what you're saying is…?"

"A big beast and a witch protecting a little forest – there's gotta be a reason," Prompto piped up; his blue eyes gleamed with excitement, "treasure!" The blond added as he leant over the passenger side door of the car to grab the map from the glovebox; he then carefully spread the map over the bonnet of the Regalia and began to scan the landmarks and labels until he found what he was looking for. "It could be here – Malmalam Thicket – it looks like there's a dirt road that comes off of the main road if we head towards Cape Caem – wanna check it out?"

Noctis gave his best friend and his shield another uncertain glance as he moved to Prompto's side and looked at the map over the blond's shoulder, "you guys can't really believe that this witch and this pet actually exist."

"Why not? We've come across stranger things," Prompto shrugged; he then began to list off their experiences, "covenants with the Astrals, daemons, messengers of the gods and I'm going to count that Ardyn guy too – he's in a league of his own, if you ask me – so a witch doesn't really seem that far-fetched."

"If you don't believe in it, why don't we put these rumours to rest?" Gladiolus suggested.

The prince heaved a weary sigh, "fine."

"The I suggest that we stock up on a few more potions and antidotes," Ignis joined the conversation as he withdrew a black, leather wallet from the pocket of his trousers and checked the amount of Gil inside, "just in case we do happen across those toxic spores."

"There's a merchant just over there," Gladiolus pointed towards a red pick-up truck that was positioned on the over side of the road – directly opposite the gas pumps.

The muscular man and the sandy haired advisor quickly crossed the road to approach the merchant while Prompto folded the map into a smaller section – so that he could concentrate on the smaller area between Old Lestallum and their new destination – and Noctis made room in the Regalia's trunk for the new vials.

As soon as Gladiolus and Ignis had returned to the car with their arm full of vials of potions and antidotes – which were placed in the trunk beside the grate of beans – the four men settled themselves back into the seats of the vehicle with Noctis behind the steering wheel this time.

Noctis pulled away from the gas pumps and followed the road out of Old Lestallum; heading in a south western direction.

"It's not too far from here," Prompto told himself in an undertone before he turned slightly in his seat to address Noctis in a louder voice, "just keep following this road – I'll tell you when we're close to the turn off."

The raven haired prince gave a small nod to show Prompto that he had understood what the blond had said as he allowed the Regalia to glide along the tarmac at a faster pace.

The young blond occasionally glanced up from the folded map in his lap in order to recollect his surroundings; he could hear the odd rustling noise from behind him – which told him that Gladiolus had begun to read from his book once more.

"It's just up ahead," Prompto said as he pointed out of the front windscreen at the fast approaching dirt track that turned off of the main road on the right.

The black vehicle slowed down as the raven haired man flicked the indicator up and carefully turned the steering wheel towards the right – making the car turn onto the makeshift road.

"I think I recognise this place," Noctis murmured more to himself as he peered at the thick tree on either side of the track over the Regalia's steering wheel, "we came past here when we was travelling with Iris, right?"

"Indeed," came Ignis's voice from the seat behind Noctis, "we decided that Iris's safety was more important at the time and proceeded on to Cape Caem."

"I'm glad that did now that I've heard these rumours about witches and beasts," Gladiolus commented as he glanced up from the pages of his book.

The short journey along the unpaved road was jarring and uncomfortable; each of the four friends heaved a sigh of relief when Noctis pulled into a rundown parking spot and cut off the Regalia's engine.

"Well, that's a comforting sign," Ignis commented while he eyed a haven next to the parking spot as he opened the car door and slid out of the Regalia, "at least we know that we have safe refuge nearby."

Prompto quickly noted the location of the parking spot and the camping ground on the map before he got out of the car, folded the map up properly and tucked it safely into the back pocket of his trousers.

Gladiolus – who had already walked a short distance further than the haven – began to survey the surrounding area.

"There's a path down here," the burly brunette called out to the remaining three men before he then turned his gaze towards a parting in the trees to find a flowing river – Gladiolus could see another path that lead into a thicker stretch of trees on the over side of the bank, "it looks like this path might lead to the forest over there."

"Any signs of this witch?" Noctis asked in a sarcastic tone as he joined Gladiolus's side to see for himself.

"Let's follow the path and find out."

Ignis and Prompto grabbed a few essentials from the trunk of the car – including a large, black fabric bag; which Ignis handed to Gladiolus.

The brunette led the way down the path that had been worn into the path with Noctis, Prompto and Ignis following closely behind.

The group followed the path and crossed over a rickety, wooden bridge onto the other side of the river bank; where they quickly found the other dirt track that wound its way through the trees that Gladiolus had spotted earlier.

The sunlight soon became almost completely obscured by the canopy of leaves above – giving the forest air a green glow – leaving small beams of light filter through tiny gaps in the foliage as the density of the forest became thicker and thicker.

To Prompto, it had felt like they had been walking for hours; sweat beaded down his forehead and his legs were beginning to ache due to the slow inclination of the terrain. To make matters worse for the blond, the humid air attracted more and more insects – with an irritable huff, Prompto tried to swat them away from his face and found the buzzing from their wings even more irksome as the insects hovered around his head. Prompto was also fairly certain that he had been bitten quite a few times too, but he hadn't had the time to stop and check – even just the thought of insect bites made the blond's skin crawl; so Prompto tried to push the thoughts to the back of his mind.

Prompto watched as Noctis jerked his head and quickly slapped one of his hands against his own neck before he then moved his hand away to inspect the palm of his hand – the blond grinned to himself; he had to admit that he was somewhat pleased to see that he wasn't suffering alone.

"Noct, take a look at this." Ignis – who had been at the back of the group – had stopped in his tracks as his eyes were drawn towards a small wooden sign that was standing at an awkward angle.

"What is it?" The prince asked as he turned on the spot and walked back to where the sandy haired man was stood – he squinted down at the sign and read the words aloud. "Malmalam Thicket. No hunters allowed."

"There's another one over here." Prompto noted with a nod towards another sign with the same wording close to where he was now stood.

"And up here." Came Gladiolus's voice a little further ahead.

"We must be getting close." Ignis told his friends as the group slowly continued their trek.

"How many warnings do they need?" Prompto cocked his head to one side with a perplexed expression as he spotted two more signs along their path.

"You'd be surprised at how many morons ignore these signs and just run head first into a dangerous place." Gladiolus replied with an indifferent shrug.

"You mean morons like… us?" The blond pointed out.

"Speak for yourself," Noctis muttered in a barely audible voice.

The brunette gave a low chuckle, "you've got me there – in any case, at least we know that we've got the right place."

Prompto slowed his pace as his gaze flitted towards a slight clearing in the trees before double taking on himself to stare at the spot with a curious expression; the blond was fairly certain that he had seen a less worn path straying away from the one that he and his friends were currently following.

"Is something wrong, Prompto?"

Ignis's voice pulled Prompto out of his stupor with a small start; the blond glanced about himself to find that he had now fallen to the back of the group and the bespectacled man had stopped once more to regard Prompto with an inquisitive stare.

"No, I'm fine," Prompto reassured the sandy haired man as he jogged to catch up with his friends, "I was just looking around."

"Try and stick together from here on," Gladiolus instructed as he pulled a low hanging branch out of the way to reveal an opening between a large wall of rocks – the brunette waited until Noctis, Ignis and Prompto had ducked through the entrance before he followed behind them; letting the branch swing back into position as he relinquished his grip.

The four men stood in silence for a few moments to taking in their new surroundings; the whole area seemed to be encased by large rocks – most of which appeared to be held in place by long, entwining roots of the trees that towered high above them. A low thin mist hung about the four men; making the air feel denser than it had prior to their entry into the thicket. An earthy smell hit their nostrils; it was mixed with something that reminded Prompto of the sweet scents that usually filled the air before a storm or a heavy downpour of rain.

Gladiolus gave a low whistle, "so this is Malmalam Thicket – I'm glad that we didn't bring Iris here."

"It doesn't seem so bad," Prompto mused aloud while he continued to stare about himself, "we've been to worse places."

"Let's decide on that after we've dealt with this so-called witch and her pet," Ignis said.

"Or after we've been poisoned by toxic spores." Noctis added as he took the lead and guided his friends further into the thicket; the raven haired prince made sure that he moved carefully and kept his eyes peeled for any hostile beast around each bend.

"Loving the optimism, guys!" The blond spoke in a sarcastic voice as he Ignis and Gladiolus followed in Noctis's footsteps. "I'm really digging the glass-half-full vibes!"

"Quit bitching and pay more attention," the prince's shield growled as he threw both Noctis and Prompto a sideways glance, "we need to be alert and watch our backs. We should be careful not to make too much noise – even in places like this – who knows what kind of creatures we'll wake up."

"Ah, there's the feeling of impending doom that I was missing," Prompto muttered in an undertone, "thanks, big guy."

As they pressed further through Malmalam Thicket, the young blond began to feel something hovering close to his head – the feeling was soon accompanied by the low buzz of beating wings. With another scowl, Prompto tried to beat the insect away only to find that his hand connected with something much bigger than he had anticipated.

Prompto felt a heavy weight drop like a stone into his stomach as he slowly turned his head to find that the insect in question was almost half of his own height. The creature had a blue body with a red striped pattern adorning its back along with large, light blue translucent wings – purple markings covered the insect's legs and feelers.

Prompto felt panic rise like a wave of nausea in his chest as the buzzing from the insect's wings became faster and the creature began to move erratically; the blond instinctively withdrew his gun – in a quick successive motion he aimed the firearm and pulled the trigger. Prompto's bullet connected with the creature's wing; causing the large insect to tumble to the ground.

The sound of Prompto's pistol reverberated throughout the thicket; making Noctis, Ignis and Gladiolus spin on the spot to regard the blond with bewildered stares.

"What the hell is that?" Prompto dropped his arm to his side as he cautiously approached the writhing creature on the floor.

"Prompto, get back!" Ignis warned the blond.

Without another word of warning, Ignis summoned his Drain Lance and threw the polearm at the large insect; piercing the creature's head and causing Prompto – who was still stood nearby – to be splattered by a dark green substance.

"URGH!" Prompto jumped back from the now twitching form as he wiped the green liquid from his eyes. "That is disgusting!" The blond examined the substance on his hands before he tried to wipe them clean on his trousers. "And sticky! Gross!"

"Solider Wasp," Ignis notified his companions while he too approached the creature and retrieved his polearm – pausing only for a second to survey the dirtied tip of the lance, "it's best to deal with them before they become a problem – we're lucky it was only one; they can become quite a nuisance when aggravated," the sandy haired man withdrew a handkerchief from the breast pocket of his jacket and handed it to Prompto.

"If you thought one of them would cause a problem, wait until you get a load of this," Gladiolus smirked as he discarded the fabric bag that he had been carrying onto the floor and instead summoned his great sword, "it looks like we've interested a few of its friends."

As the brunette spoke more Solider Wasps – that had previously gone unnoticed – detached themselves from the rock walls and hovered angrily above the four men while the sound of their beating wings filled the air.


End file.
